Tackling inequalities in education for Gypsy Roma and Traveller children

Watch live or on demand

Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy Roma and Traveller communities: education

10.00 Weds 12 Sept 2018, Thatcher Room, PCH

Women and Equalities Committee

Statistics suggest that Gypsy Roma and Traveller young people have the worst educational outcomes of any ethnic group, with only 21 GRT students sitting A levels in 2016.

The session will focus on national and local education policy relating to GRT pupils, and will consider the main barriers that GRT children face in education including:

• Bullying: why are Government and local authority strategies not working?

• Exclusion: fixed and permanent exclusions appear to be disproportionately high. What is driving this?
• Home education: is it effective?
• Appropriate provision: how effective are support services? Ofsted inspections?
• Staying in education: why do numerous Gypsy and Traveller children drop out of school, often before starting secondary education?

Witnesses:

• Professor Kalwant Bhopal, Professor of Education and Social Justice, University of Birmingham, Centre for Research in Race and Education
• David Bishop, Head of Services (Alternative Provision, Attendance and Independent Schools), Birmingham City Council
• Sean Harford, National Director for Education, Ofsted, Rose McCarthy, Chair, Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers
• Brian Foster, Executive member, Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers.

The discussion will also cover examples of best practice and proposed solutions.

The main focus of this session is on Gypsy and Traveller inequalities, as migrant Roma young people have very different challenges that have more in common with other migrant communities that Gypsy/ Traveller communities.